Trade in Non-Mammalian Wild Animals for Traditional African Medicine in Ogun State, Nigeria

A steady rise in the patronage for Traditional African Medicine (TAM) has necessitated a corresponding increase in the demand for the ingredients used in the preparation of the tradomedicines. These ingredients are the various wild animals and plants parts. The attendant rise in this demand for ingredients calls for a need to document the extent of utilisation of these natural resources involved as a measure of the impact of such trade on biodiversity conservation. This paper examined diversity of molluscan, reptilian and avian species traded for use in TAM; the quantity of each species traded for utilisation over a period of time, and seasonal fluctuations in abundance and utilisation of these species as an index of utilisation pressure on populations in the wild. A multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was employed. An open-ended questionnaire was administered on vendors in selected market stalls for six consecutive markets days in each of dry and rainy seasons. The study identified twenty-three species, 8 were listed in CITES and Nigerian Decree 11(1985). A total of 3196 (molluscan), 2527 (reptilian), 2894 (avian) carcasses were traded over an average period of twenty days

Pilot survey of ethnozoological utilization of vertebrates in southwestern Nigeria

A survey of some vertebrates used in traditional medical practices was carried out Among the Ijebu and Ibadan people of southwestern Nigeria. Open-ended structured Questionnaires were administered on 50 traders at five markets namely Oja-Oba, Bode and Oje in Ibadan; Ita-Osu in Ijebu-Ode and Obada in Ijebu-Igbo. Eighty percent (80%) of the traders were females, sixty-four percent (64%) were Muslims, sixty-two percent (62%) were primary school leavers while forty percent (40%) were between the ages of 36-45 years . The zootherapeutic uses of the wild vertebrates claimed by these traders ranged from The cure of skin dryness, rheumatism, epilepsy, leprosy, impotency, infertility, healing Of wounds and preparation of aphrodisiacs. Other uses include the preparation of charms Or amulets for protection, good fortune, reverence from peers and elders and money Ritual Sixteen of the forty species surveyed were listed as threatened in the Nigeria's Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Decree No 11 of 1985. It is therefore a necessity to conduct further research in order to authenticate the abovementioned therapeutic claims. It is also imperative to educate these traders on the effect of their trade on the threatened species and the likely resultant impact on biodiversity and by extension the Nation as a whol

Assessing Africa-wide pangolin exploitation by scaling local data

Overexploitation is one of the main pressures driving wildlife closer to extinction, yet broad-scale data to evaluate species’ declines are limited. Using African pangolins (Family: Pholidota) as a case study, we demonstrate that collating local-scale data can provide crucial information on regional trends in exploitation of threatened species to inform conservation actions and policy. We estimate that 0.4-2.7 million pangolins are hunted annually in Central African forests. The number of pangolins hunted has increased by ∼150% and the proportion of pangolins of all vertebrates hunted increased from 0.04% to 1.83% over the past four decades. However, there were no trends in pangolins observed at markets, suggesting use of alternative supply chains. The price of giant (Smutsia gigantea) and arboreal (Phataginus sp.) pangolins in urban markets has increased 5.8 and 2.3 times respectively, mirroring trends in Asian pangolins. Efforts and resources are needed to increase law enforcement and population monitoring, and investigate linkages between subsistence hunting and illegal wildlife trade

Risks to Birds Traded for African Traditional Medicine: A Quantitative Assessment

Few regional or continent-wide assessments of bird use for traditional medicine have been attempted anywhere in the world. Africa has the highest known diversity of bird species used for this purpose. This study assesses the vulnerability of 354 bird species used for traditional medicine in 25 African countries, from 205 genera, 70 families, and 25 orders. The orders most represented were Passeriformes (107 species), Falconiformes (45 species), and Coraciiformes (24 species), and the families Accipitridae (37 species), Ardeidae (15 species), and Bucerotidae (12 species). The Barn owl (Tyto alba) was the most widely sold species (seven countries). The similarity of avifaunal orders traded is high (analogous to ‘‘morphospecies’’, and using Sørensen’s index), which suggests opportunities for a common understanding of cultural factors driving demand. The highest similarity was between bird orders sold in markets of Benin vs. Burkina Faso (90%), but even bird orders sold in two geographically separated countries (Benin vs. South Africa and Nigeria vs. South Africa) were 87% and 81% similar, respectively. Rabinowitz’s ‘‘7 forms of rarity’’ model, used to group species according to commonness or rarity, indicated that 24% of traded bird species are very common, locally abundant in several habitats, and occur over a large geographical area, but 10% are rare, occur in low numbers in specific habitats, and over a small geographical area. The order with the highest proportion of rare species was the Musophagiformes. An analysis of species mass (as a proxy for size) indicated that large and/or conspicuous species tend to be targeted by harvesters for the traditional medicine trade. Furthermore, based on cluster analyses for species groups of similar risk, vultures, hornbills, and other large avifauna, such as bustards, are most threatened by selective harvesting and should be prioritised for conservation action.University of the Witwatersrand SPARC Prestigious and URC Postdoctoral Fellowships; National Research Foundatio

Traditional-medical knowledge and perception of pangolins (<it>manis sps</it>) among the awori people, Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract Background Animals have been used as medicinal resources throughout human history. Majority of wildlife used in traditional medicines is taken from the wild; hence demand by traditional medicine is a cause of over-exploitation of wild animals. Indiscriminate use of endangered species portends grievous implications for biodiversity conservation. This study investigated the dynamics of the use of pangolin in trado-medicinal preparations amongst the Awori people. Methods Forty traditional Yorubic-medical practitioners (tymps) selected through stratified random-sampling technique were interviewed using open-ended questionnaires. Various aspects of the utilisation of pangolin in traditional medicinal practices were investigated. Data collected were analysed using simple frequencies and percentages. Results An average of 1.6 pangolins were utilised per tymp per month. About 43% of respondents contracted hunters for deliberate searches for the animals. More than 92% believed that pangolins' abundance is steadily decreasing. Above 97% reported a continuous decline in the size of pangolin. Pangolin was used in treating 47 conditions. Situations accommodated included those that can be treated by orthodox medicine like rheumatism and venereal diseases as well as some that are out of range for orthodox medicine including kleptomania and good luck charms. Some substitute animals like gorilla are under a greater conservation threat than pangolin. Conclusions Utilisation of pangolin in traditional medicine has no consideration for sustainability. Awareness should be created on people as regards the implications of unsustainable depletion of medicinal resources. Efforts should be intensified on ex-situ breeding of pangolin while subjecting the scales and other parts to laboratory studies to determine the bioactive constituents.</p

Pilot survey of ethnozoological utilization of vertebrates in southwestern Nigeria

A survey of some vertebrates used in traditional medical practices was carried out among the Ijebu and Ibadan people of southwestern Nigeria. Open-ended structured questionnaires were administered on 50 traders at five markets namely Oja-Oba, Bode and Oje in Ibadan; Ita-Osu in Ijebu-Ode and Obada in Ijebu-Igbo. Eighty percent (80%) of the traders were females, sixty-four percent (64%) were Muslims, sixty-two percent (62%) were primary school leavers while forty percent (40%) were between the ages of 36-45 years. The zootherapeutic uses of the wild vertebrates claimed by these traders ranged from the cure of skin dryness, rheumatism, epilepsy, leprosy, impotency, infertility, healing of wounds and preparation of aphrodisiacs. Other uses include the preparation of charms or amulets for protection, good fortune, reverence from peers and elders and money ritual. Sixteen of the forty species surveyed were listed as threatened in the Nigeria's Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Decree No 11 of 1985. It is therefore a necessity to conduct further research in order to authenticate the abovementioned therapeutic claims. It is also imperative to educate these traders on the effect of their trade on the threatened species and the likely resultant impact on biodiversity and by extension the Nation as a whole. Keywords: zootherapy, ethnozoology, impact, species.Indilinga Vol. 5 (1) 2006: pp. 87-9